[tkwalker]

First off, There is no question that can be asked (ignorance) when you are trying to educate yourself. We all are excited for you with your new boat and your quest for knowledge to enjoy Tennessee's great fisheries safely. And I want to thank all of the members who joined in on this thread.

Now, I don't know how much you know about our lake and river systems so maybe I can help. Center Hill, J. Percy Priest, Dale Hollow are what you call "Land Locked Lakes"; meaning they are not navigable to major tributaries for commerce or travel. In our neck of the woods this would mean the Mississippi, hence, north to Minnesota, and South to the Gulf of Mexico.

Dale Hollow is fed by the Obey River.

Center Hill is fed by the Caney Creek, which drains Fall Creek Falls; Calfkiller River; Rocky River; Collins River, which flows into Great Falls Lake; Falling Water River.

J. Percy Priest is fed by the Stones River.

Now all of the above reservoirs form the Cumberland River chain. Center Hill and Dale Hollow is the head waters.

The Cumberland is 688-mile-long, and the river drains almost 18,000 square miles from southern Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. The river flows generally west from a source in the Appalachian Mountains to its confluence with the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky, and the mouth of the Tennessee River. Major tributaries include the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, and Red rivers.


From the Dale Hollow side the first lake that is formed on the Cumberland is Cordell Hull, the second Lake is Old Hickory. Where the Caney Fork Empties (from Center Hill ) at Carthage... JPP enters the Cumberland in Nashville. The third Lake is Cheatham and so on until it reaches the Ohio River which shortly empties into the Mississippi.

As Ryanbass16 stated the numbers are elevations above sea level. The Land Locked Lakes being the highest of the elevations and form every lake below it .. Formed by the dams decrease the elevations like a stair step. Note: Old Hickory is used more often as the balancing lake for the Cumberland system. That is why at certain times of the year you see more drift in the river because of the raise and fall of the water level ...

Hope this helps and ask any questions anytime... That is what we are about .. <'TK><